Traditional Archery in Vietnam

Stephen Selby · Post by **Stephen Selby** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:35 am

I have just paid a visit to the Vietnam National Sports Association in Hanoi to make enquiries about archery such as that shown in the photographs like this : http://198.66.52.119/images/vietnam02.JPG

They don't have much information. I gave them good copies of these old photos for their museum but I'd like to find some more.

If you have any copies of old photos of archery in Vietnam, or of the Cham people (they think that the archers in the photo are Cham), please would you let me have a scanned copy?

West · Post by **West** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 9:27 am

The only authentic images of south-east Asian archery are on friezes in Angkor Wat/Thom etc, showing simple wooden bows in use in the medieval period. Those archers in the photograph look very westernised. Perhaps it is that the archers in the picture have taken it up as a hobby, influenced by French colonials.

Stephen Selby · Post by **Stephen Selby** » Mon Feb 27, 2006 1:07 am

I don't think that they are French-influenced. They are using pellet bows (no arrows

), which the French did not use. The idea of having a formal shooting club might be French influence, though.

S.